Freese, Wainwright help Cardinals reach third straight NLCS

St. Louis, MO (SportsNetwork.com) - David Freese conjured up his postseason
heroics from two years ago and Adam Wainwright went the distance to send the
St. Louis Cardinals back to the NLCS for the third straight year.

Freese, the MVP of the 2011 World Series, belted an early two-run homer and
Matt Adams added another one late as the Cardinals rolled to a 6-1 victory
over Pittsburgh Pirates in a decisive Game 5 of the NLDS.

St. Louis won the last two games of the series on the backs of strong starting
pitching. Michael Wacha took a no-hitter into the eighth inning of Monday's
tight 2-1 victory, and Wainwright (2-0) followed the rookie's stellar
performance with one of his own, scattering eight hits -- all singles -- with
a walk and six strikeouts.

The NL Central champs, who are 8-1 in postseason elimination games over the
past three years. will have home-field advantage over the Los Angeles
Dodgers in the NLCS, with Game 1 scheduled for Friday.

The Pirates, looking for their first postseason series win 1979, tabbed rookie
Gerrit Cole as their starter rather than Game 1 loser A.J. Burnett. Cole (1-1)
threw five solid innings, but was done in by Freese's second-inning homer.